Cistern



(No Model.) I

I J. BARNUM.

GISTERN.

Patented Mar. 18, 1884.

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JAMES VESTFALL BARNUM, OF NEW GRLEANS, LOUISIANA.

ClSTERN.

SPECIFICATIGN forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,330, dated March 18, 1884.

Application filed August T, 1833.

To alii whom it may crm/cern:

Be it known that I, .Linus WV. BARNUM, of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gisterns, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

rIhis invention relates more especially to honsecisterns that receive water from the roof of the building.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corsponding parts in all the gures.

Figure l is a perspective view of a cisterntank having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detailed sectional elevation ofa part of the same, showing the construction of the cock or valve; and Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the tank, showing a modified form of valve.

The cistern or tank A maybe of the ordinary or of any approved construction. In the form of cistern shown in Figs. l and 2, I provide the tank at one side, just above the bottom B, with .the cock or valve C. In the form shown in Fig. 3, I fit in the bottom B of the tankA the conical thilnble D, and in this thinible I fit the conical plug or stopper E, which is conL nected by means of the rod F to the ioat G, held near the top of the tank A, when the water in the cistern is below the iioat, upon the inner ends or" the hooks II H, placed over the upper edge of the tank.

The cock or valve C, which is the form I prefer, is composed of the hollow casting a, which has "the hollow extension b, which is screw-threaded and adapted to be screwed into the opening,` c, made through the tank, as shown clearlyin Fig. 3. At itslower end the casting a is open and internally screw-thread ed, as shown at d, 'to receive the externally screw-threaded annular plug e. rlhe inner wall of theannnlar plug is made slightly conical to receive the conical stopper f, which its` watertight in the annular plug e, and when closed prevents all escape ot' water from the cistern through the cock or valve C.

J is a yoke which, when in place, straddles the cock or valve C, as shown in Fig. l, and

(No model.)

is connected at its lower end to the conical stopper f by means of the cross-rod 7L, which passes through the eyes i t', 'formed at the lower ends of the yoke J, and through the notched or divided head j, screwed upon the lower end of the guide-rod K, to which the stopper f is secured inside of the casting a. The up per end of the yoke J is connected by means of the rod L to the outer free end of the lever M, which is hinged by means of theliaphinge m to the upper edge of the tank A, and lies across the tank, as shown in Fig. l.

The float G, in the construction shown in Fig. l, is provided upon its upper side with the vertically and centrally placed board N, and also with the cross-bar O, secured to the edge of the board N. The board N and bar O are placed at right angles to the lever M, and the bar O is of a length greater than the diameter of the upper end of the tank A, and when the water in the tank is below the iloat G the bar O rests at its ends upon the edges of the tank, and supports the float near the top of the tank, as illustrated in Fig. l. When the water in the tank A is below the ioat G, the conical stopper f or E, as the case may be, will prevent all escape of water from the tank at the bottoni; but when the water rises in the tank, so as to lift the float G, the float will lift the stopper f or E from its seat and permit the water to How ont at the bottoni of the tank. as fast as it enters the tank from the roof. In 'the construction shown in Fig. 3, the float G acts to lift .the stopper E directly through the rod F, the

stopper being guided by the pin or short rod k, attached thereto, which passes through a small hole made in the cross-plate le', formed at the lower end of the thimble D. In the construction shown in Fig. l, the oat acts to lift the stopper f through board N, bar O, lever M, rod L, yoke J, rod Iz., and rod K, which latter also serves as a guide to the upanddown movement of the stopper by being fitted at its upper end in the cup Z, made at the top or closed end of the hollow casting a, and at its lower end in a small hole made in the cross-plate l', formed at the lower end of the hollow casting a, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The cross-bar() and thelever M are guided in their up-anddown movement, due to the IOO e eeaaae raising and lowering of the water in the tank A, by the loops o 0, attached to the upper edge of the tank, as shown in Fig. l, so that thelever M and float G cannot get out of place.

Prepresents a semiclrcul ar opening made in the oat G, through which the pipe which leads the water from the roof into the tank A reaches into the tank. Constructed in this 1nanner,it will be seen that all danger of the tank overflowing during hard or continuous rains is obviated, and that,` during hard or continuons rains, the dirt that may have accumulated in the bottom of the tank and the water that may have been in the tank for a long time, when the float G rises, will all passoff from the bottom of the tank, while the pure water enters from above, thus making the tank self-cleaning, so that the tank will be flushed out during every hard and continuous rain, and so that the water contained in the tank will at all times be comparatively pure; and, furthermore, it will be seen that the tank requires no attention whatever.

I am aware thatit is not new in water-tanks to connect a bottom valve with a iloat by a lever; but

That I do claim as new and of my invention is- 1. The combination, with a tank and an overflow-valve at the lower end of the tank, of a float connected with said overliow-valve, and means, substantially as shown and described, for holding the float near the top of the tank when the water is below the same, as set forth.

2. The body a, having the hollow externally-threaded extension b, the top cup, l, and the internally-threaded lower end, the externally screw-threaded plug e, made conical on the inside, and the conical stopper having an up per and lower stem, in combination with a cistern-valve and suitable mechanism to connect it with the stopper-stem, for the purpose specied.

3. The combination, with the cock-stopper f, having a downward stem, K, and slotted head j, of the cross-rod h, the yoke J, having eyes the pivoted rod L, the lever M, hinged at m, the board N, the cross-bar O, and the lioat G, as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a cistern, the combination, with the tank A, provided with the guides o, and the cock-stopperf, of the oat G, provided with the bar O, for holding the same near the top ofthe tank, and the lever M, hinged to the tank, and having its free end connected to the said cock stopper, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

JAMES VESTFALL BARNUM.

Witnesses:

ANDREW HERO, Jr., JNO. IWARD. 

